Ian Botham believes 100-ball tournament would bring the crowds in and bring in a new audience.

The controversial 100-ball competition proposed by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has become the talk of the town in the UK, and many expressed their views on the new city-based tournament.

While many expressed their unpleasant over the ECB’s this move, though English national Team has already given their support to the tournament in a bid to get a new audience in the country.

Recently, England great Ian Botham has thrown his support to the 100-ball tournament and seems highly impressed with England Board’s "Hundred" concept, hoping it can match the worldwide trend likes of the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Australia's Big Bash League (BBL), though both are T20s.

Meanwhile, ECB is planning to launch this domestic tournament from 2020, which will see each side 15 traditional six-ball overs, and a final 10-ball over, a 20-delivery shortfall on traditional T20 matches.

As per reports in AFP, Botham told reporters, “The game has to move on. I think we're in danger of diluting the red-ball game too much and going down the one-day road, but that's what the public wants at the moment and we're trying to do something different.”

He further added on the same, “No one's agreed anything yet regarding the new competition so we'll have to wait and see how it all falls into place. But we needed a competition in England to compete with the Big Bash and the IPL -- everyone else has one and we've been slow to pick up on it.”

The English legend further went on to explain, “If you took that survey around the northeast it wouldn't be very accurate. But they've been out there, they've done the surveys and they're saying it needs to be grown, so you've got to take their word for it.”

Botham signed off by saying, “If the T20 game was marketed well in England, I think it would bring the crowds in and bring in a new audience. But who is to say this 'Hundred' competition isn't going to be bigger and better? We'll just have to wait and see.”